I just have a question regarding importing boats from the US to Europe... To be alowed to import a US boat, it needs something called CE-marks, witch is a safety documentation from the producer. Is this something that`s usual on todays boats in the US???

I`ve got help from Google Translate to translate the website with the rules here, so you`ll understand what I`m talking about.

"CE marking

Pleasure boats with a hull length of between 2.5 and 24 meters shall be CE-marked before they can be put on the market or put into service for the first time in the EEA.


From 16 June 1998, there have been claims that recreational boats shall be CE marked. From 1 January 2006, the requirement that the engines must be CE marked. This requirement applies throughout the EEA and that the product is manufactured according to EU legislation.

It is the manufacturer's responsibility to CE mark the boat. When importing Used importer is responsible for the boat CE marked. The rules on CE marking can be found in the yachting regulations.

Which vessel shall be CE marked?

Pleasure boats with a hull length of between 2.5 and 24 meters shall be CE-marked before they can be put on the market or put into service for the first time in the EEA. Recreational boats which are imported from countries outside the EEA, therefore, as a rule CE-marked before they can be put on the market or put into service in Norway.

Which vessels are exempt from the requirements for CE marking?

• Recreational boats which are put on the market or put into use within the Community before 16 June 1998
• Competition boats, labeled as such by the manufacturer
• History boats, boats built before 1950 or true copy of such boats
• Self-built boats for their own use, as long as the builder owns the boat for a period of five years from starting to use "


I`d really like to buy a boat in the US and import it to Norway, but I need more info about this before I do so...

CE marking of the product regardless if it is a boat or not demonstrates that the item is in conformance with the associated European directive for that product. By placing a CE mark on an item the manufacturer e.g. the person that puts it on the market in the European Union for the 1st time is asserting that it meets all the requirements associated with that item. These requirements may include methods of production, other standards, including safety items. With that said there must be a European Directive for pleasure boats. Putting a CE mark on a boat is not small undertaking. However, some manufacturers may have decided to produce all of their products under the auspices of the associated directive but only label product destined for the European market with a CE. Therefore if you find a boat that is not CE marked by contacting the manufacturer it may be possible for the manufacturer to provide you with documentation/labeling that would demonstrate conformity to the associated directive-I personally do not think that that would happen but there is always a chance.

I don't have any experience with CE marking of boats but have a lot of experience in CE marking medical devices and the process would be basically the same.

Good luck and safe boating

3pointstar

Are you looking to buy a used boat, or new?

We've acquired CE certs for some of our buyers outside of the US on new Active Thunders.

I should be able to help you with this, as I do this for a living. We export second hand boats from the US mainly to the EU area and handle the CE certification for our customers boats so they can be legally imported and put on the markets within the EU area. For used boats, what is required, is called a PCA (Post Construction Assessment). Whether a used boat can be CE certified greatly depends on the engines. It's all about emissions and the emissions certificates available. Each boat needs to be individually assessed and 99% of boats built within the US for the US markets don't have the CE marking on them from the factory, so they need the PCA before being importable to the EU. A straight forward (but costly) process mostly, if the engines are new enough and come with factory emissions paperwork. Norway, (though not a member of the EU) has adopted the same CE requirements as the EU countries, but they actually require even more than what's written on the EU recreational craft directive. For the EU countries, a CARB*** emissions certified motor (gasoline engines) is enough, but in Norway, the officials actually require the engines them selves to have a CE certification from the builder. Older than 2006 inboard engines generally don't have this and as any gas motor over 500 hp does not require emissions documents in the US, the EU rules effectively make most of the Mercury "blue" motors impossible to certify for EU use, if originally meant for the US markets. There are a lot of buts and ifs in the whole process, but I know the whole process very well and I'm happy to help if I can. If you can tell me what kind of a boat you're looking for, I can most likely tell you right away if it can be certified or what needs to be changed to get the boat certified.

Thanx guys! I thought it would be a rather huge prosess, and cost quite a bit... Europe, and Norway especially, are "crazy" about stuff like this. But when we see the prices on the boats on the US market, we get tempted. ;-) And from July 2014 we got rid of a tax for the horsepower. That made me even more tempted.
But I guess if it was easy, more European buyers would get their boats from the US...

There is one small hole thow...if you buy a race boat. But then again you need documentation for it being a "race boat"...

If (or when) I`m ready, I`ll get in touch with you for more help.

Thanx again! :-)

.would you be able to share contact info..looking forward to important boat into EU from US..thanks

My 28 Skater was CE certified when imported to Norway.

It came with some CE booklet. It explained which side of the boat was supposed to be up and stuff. I can check who issued it.

Imi
That person, NYW , hasn't visited OSO since 2015.
However, this appears to be their website and may be able to help you.
https://www.nordicyachtworks.com/importexport/